Some Lake County municipal officials are willing to look beyond the trash, traffic and toxins associated with garbage-to-ethanol processing plants, seeing the potential for an influx of new jobs and millions of dollars in hosting fees and property tax revenues.
The possible incentives are tempting at a time when communities are planning painful budget reductions.
"I have had three communities come to me and say we want it," said Jeffery Langbehn, executive director of the Lake County Solid Waste District.
Officials for Genahol-Powers 1 LLC , Indiana Ethanol Power LLC, both of Evansville, have been scouting the county for possible sites, ranging in size from 12 to 40 acres.
Hobart Mayor Brian Snedecor said last week, "There have been people who have come and asked us about different locations around the city.
"I am not saying that our city is welcoming these proposed facilities. It's too premature to say anything about specific locations, but we are certainly willing to sit down and discuss the possibilities."
Merrillville Town Manager Tim Brown said, "I don't know of anybody inviting them here either, but like (Mayor Snedecor) said, you'd be crazy not to be at that table."
Langbehn said no site has been settled for proposed Lake County garbage-to-ethanol plants, and he wouldn't name interested community officials who have approached him as of last week.
The district is in the midst of negotiating a possible contract with Genahol-Powers 1 LLC , Indiana Ethanol Power LLC and Allied Waste to dispose of the county's residential garbage for the next 20 years.
Genahol-Powers and Indiana Ethanol would ferment the waste into bio-fuel in plants somewhere in the county while Allied would continue hauling it to downstate landfills.
Langbehn and Lake County Commissioner Gerry Scheub, D-Schererville, have put out the welcome mat for ethanol plants. Scheub said recently he wants the county to be in the forefront of developing an alternative to oil.
"Shame on us if we sit still and do nothing," Scheub said.
Other county officials sound more cautious in the face of criticism from environmental activists such as Sandy O'Brien, of the Dunelands Sierra Club, who have lined up against Genahol-Powers. O'Brien and those in her camp complain the high-heat gasification process would create cancer-causing dioxins. Genahol officials argue their emissions will pass muster with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
